January Birchbox: Let's Do This!

I'm a bit late posting on my January Birchbox, as getting outside to take pictures has been hit or miss lately.  However, this was a good box, so let's do this!

The rosemary and mint scented body lotion from Essential Elements ($3.80) is a nice companion piece to the body wash from the line that I received a while back, so it'll get used.  It's a lighter lotion and I'm veering towards rich body butters right now, so I'll save it for warmer weather. 

My favorite item from January's box is the CC Cream from Supergoop ($2).  I was surprised that it gave me enough coverage to work on it's own as a foundation (I do mix with a cream highlighter), and the finish does not sink into or emphasize pores and is oh so natural.  The color is supposed to be self-adjusting, and the light to medium matches my fair but warm skin pretty well.  The finish is a satin and after setting with powder I get all day wear.  Really liking this, a full size tube may be in order!

Stainiac with By Terry's clear Baume de Rose on top

Stainiac by theBalm is a rosy pink cheek and lip stain that really does stain the skin.  I prefer it as a lip tint with gloss on top, as it gives a nice pink stain that lasts for a good 4 hours or so.  Sample value is $2.27.

The Whish shave cream in grapefruit ($2.97) works fairly well, and it did inspire me to layer several different grapefruit scents (Julep's discontinued grapefruit body butter and Fresh's Hesperides Grapefruit perfume) on Monday.  I'm not one to invest in a shave cream, however.

I've yet to try the Wei Manuka Bee Venom anti-wrinkle mask pod ($7.50), but I'm intrigued.  I'll have to have an at-home spa day this weekend and give it a whirl.

Here I'm wearing the Supergoop CC cream mixed with a pea-size amount of Le Métier de Beauté's Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Complex Tinted Luminizer (need to review that soon), and theBalm's Stainiac on my lips.  The value of January's Birchbox was $18.54, but considering they are all products I will use, a good start to 2015!